


frangibility

by Alienu



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Post Apocalypse, Fanfiction of Fanfiction, First Meetings, Gen, Guns, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Killing, No Romance, Serious, Survival, Swearing, THANKS AO3, Violence, no beta because im a loser, there's a tag for that wtf??, what's sleep?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26983786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alienu/pseuds/Alienu
Summary: fran·gi·ble/ˈfranjəbəl/adjectivefragile; brittle.Contrary to popular belief, Niki isn't fragile in the slightest.
Relationships: Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot
Comments: 15
Kudos: 95





	frangibility

**Author's Note:**

> hi more post-apoc AU by @ATiredShota because the recent niki design was *chef's kiss*
> 
> IMPORTANT: This is just a concept fic using the AU. Most things here are not confirmed canon. Go read Ellipsism (Shota's official post-apoc story) on Wattpad!
> 
> https://www.wattpad.com/story/236113911-ellipsism
> 
> The only thing I take credit for in this fic is the writing and the plot (of only my own works, of course)

Dim sunlight splashes onto the ruined and broken buildings, casting orange rays on the land below. She takes a glance up in the sky, observing the way the clouds roll past, white and fluffy like cotton. The city looks oddly beautiful, somehow calmingly quiet even with all the ruined buildings. Niki thinks for a moment that if the mecha problem was completely eliminated, she wouldn’t mind living this way. In a way, it's peaceful. Greenery litters the empty streets, lush vines crawling up the sides of buildings and weeds poking out from every open spot. A forest grows in what used to be a park, trees beginning to sprout in between the cracks in the asphalt. She absentmindedly wonders how long it’ll be before nature overtakes the entire city. 

There’s an abrupt rumble that startles her, sounds bouncing off the crumbling walls and echoing through the formerly quiet streets. A groan follows shortly after, and then the heavy thudding of many, many footsteps. Niki scrambles to the edge of the roof, hands moving to drag her gun closer. You can never be too careful, after all. Even though she is pretty safe on this roof, it didn't hurt to have her weapon prepared. She didn't know whether the arrows of mecha skeletons could reach her from the ground, but she didn't really want to find out.

She peers over the edge, searching for the source of the noise. There’s a plethora of groans, then the squeals of old metal that can only be coming from a horde of mecha mobs. Niki frowns to herself, scanning the ruined landscape as she wonders what poor soul had gotten themselves into such a terrible situation. She spots him—them, it turns out—sprinting across the cracked and uneven streets. Following close behind is a group of mechs, chasing after them in delight. That's not what has her attention, though. In fact, she notices, they're dressed rather strangely. One is wearing a pig mask, while the other has a sort of green and white bucket hat. Unusual attire for sure. _Then again,_ she thinks faintly, fingers ghosting over the rough material of her mask, _not that I can really judge them._

Her attention turns back to the running trio when there is a loud bang, followed by the slicing of a blade cutting through metal. Niki peers over the edge of the roof, watching a mecha zombie fall apart, the pig masked man landing on the ground a short second later. His giant sword gleams in the sunlight as he barks something to the others. He seems to be the leader, judging from the way he faces the horde of mobs and his two friends hang behind. The woman frowns, wondering just how strong he'd need to be to hold that gargantuan weapon.

Niki watches in mute awe as he takes down one mecha zombie, and then another. They drop like flies with just a few swings from his gigantic blade. The flying one joins in soon, weaving through the air in a blur of black and green with his own sword in hand. Mobs fall one after another, crashing to the ground with a series of almost rhythmic thuds each time. Niki’s gaze drifts to the tall figure hanging at the back, a yellow sweater wrapped tight around his waist. He is standing still, one hand pressed to his ear and talking into what she presumes is an earpiece. _Giving directions, maybe?_

A faint movement at the top of her vision makes the woman glance upwards, eyes latching on to the silent black mecha. The spider must be completely silent, judging from how the tall man doesn’t notice it as it peers over the top of the fallen skyscraper, staring hungrily at the human with eight beady red eyes. It stalks silently, each of it's legs placed carefully like a predator hunting prey. Niki has never been one to let others die, so without thinking she is tugging her sniper rifle close and sliding into shooting position. Gloved hands slide into position like she had been wielding guns for her entire life. Propped up on the edge of the roof, she peers through the scope. The mech prowls quietly closer, it’s black legs twitching in anticipation as it slowly crawls along the side of the building. It blends in with the shadow that the dilapidated skyscraper casts upon the ground below, the only thing visible being it’s malicious red eyes and the gleaming white of venomous fangs. She breathes in deeply, calming her racing heart.

_Focus. Three._

Her finger moves to the trigger, aimed straight at the center eye. It remains unaware of the powerful gun pointing at it from so far, focused only on the potential prey underneath. She takes another breath, adjusting her finger slightly.

_Two._

It doesn’t even register in her mind that the crashes of collapsing mechs have stopped and therefore his teammates would have noticed, and are likely rushing to save him. A slight breeze ruffles through her hair, cooling her hot skin. Niki shifts a little.

_One._

She hears the shout of alarm from the man, probably spotting the awaiting spider. It hisses in discontent and makes to leap off the building, onto its prey so it can clutch him in it’s sharp fangs and crush the human like a twig. 

_Fire._

Niki pulls the trigger, pulling her face away from the scope to watch carefully as the bullet propels through the air. The spider doesn’t see it as it moves to strike, jumping straight into the powerful shot. Hard lead breaks through the glass of the mech’s eye like it is thin cloth, striking vital components and causing the mob’s systems to shut down. It’s almost comical, watching the spider mech still mid air and crash to the ground noisily, red light fading from it's eyes as it's systems shut down. Niki breathes a sigh of relief, brushing a bead of sweat off her forehead. She lowers her gun and watches as the figure startles, clearly caught by surprise due to the abrupt ending of the mob’s life. His two teammates have stopped too from where they had been sprinting (flying, in one’s case) across the pavement, turning to peer curiously at the direction the shot had come from. 

Niki’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she scrambles to her feet, tugging her gun in her hands and cursing the low wall that had previously been a blessing. She can feel their piercing gazes burning into the back of her head, sharp and intelligent, and somewhat regrets her stupid idea of saving the guy. Is this what will lead to her death? The metal door opens with a low whine, hinges squealing as she pulls it open and scrambles through the exit. The door shuts with a clang. Niki presses against it, trying to slow her labored breathing. _That might be bad,_ she sighs to herself, _really bad._ _I've got to leave.._

It takes her a moment to slow her rapidly beating heart and begin her descent. The building is eerily silent as she makes her way down the stairwell, every thud of her boot hitting the floor bouncing off the walls. Niki sighs, holding her weapon in her hands like it is a lifeline. Hopefully they’d realize she helped them, right? There was no way they wouldn’t. It was fairly obvious, in her opinion. Then again, survivors are unpredictable. There’s still a large chance that they would kill her and loot her body. She remembers one time, a while ago when she had seen some sort of fox android thing. Niki had avoided it—chances are she would not survive a fight with a hostile android—but she still remembers the unusual bushy fox tail that had sprouted from the android’s lower back, as well as the pointy ears sticking out from their head. It had been digging through some rubble, unfazed by the sharp rocks, so Niki had left quietly. Sightings of the odd green man wandering around the city have been steadily becoming far too common for her, too. One time he had seen her as well, and judging by the way he had stared at her through the eyes of his mask, one hand adjusting itself around the hilt of his axe, Niki had deduced that he was one to avoid. He’d let her flee, gratefully, but she didn’t want to find out what would happen next time he spotted her.

Which proved difficult, considering that Niki couldn’t seem to go anywhere without seeing the flash of bright green somewhere in her vision. On roofs, digging through rubble, fighting mechas, he was everywhere on that side of the city. It had been such a pain to travel all the way to the other parts, but at least she wouldn’t have to run the risk of facing him again. So now she was here, on the western portion, hanging out on roofs and saving people from spider mechs. _What a way to live my life,_ she thinks sarcastically to herself.

Her legs are burning with exertion when she finally makes it down to the last set of stairs, tired from the continuous walking. Niki sighs, making her way to the front of the building. The glass doors open silently. After a quick glance around, she decides there are no pig-masked or tall beanie wearing men around, and jogs quickly towards a nearby fallen building. Slipping into the shadows, Niki settles herself on a pile of rubble before taking off her backpack and digging for her water bottle, ears perked and listening for any signs of danger. The liquid tastes stale, and isn’t cold like she would’ve preferred, but these days she can’t really afford to be picky.

The woman sighs, snapping the lid closed and tucking the bottle back into her pack. Pebbles crunch underneath her feet when she stands, stepping over a particularly large chunk of wall as she begins her journey. Maybe, if she were lucky, she’d be able to return to that building tomorrow. Hopefully they would’ve moved on by then. That building is far too safe for her to willingly leave behind.

Niki trudges along, hidden in the shadows of the walls. The sun continues to drop lower and lower, the sky shifting from blue to orange to pink and eventually dark blue, before it becomes black. The moonless sky is littered with white stars, twinkling and shining through. Pollution—especially in the city—had been greatly reduced as a result of society’s collapse. _That’s one positive of living in an apocalypse_ , Niki thinks optimistically to herself, _at least I can see the stars at night._

She munches on peanut butter crackers as she trudges along. The night air is cool, and all seems peaceful, but Niki knows well enough that night is just as dangerous—maybe even more so—as daytime. She faces forward, eyes darting to and fro to analyze the landscape before her, while her ears listen for any unusual sound behind her. A pebble skittering across the cement could indicate a stalker, hoping to catch her by surprise. A hiss in the dark could be a prowling spider mech. The whoosh of wind could be a blade slicing through the air.

Thankfully, she runs into no trouble as she peeks her head in and out of buildings. Safe places are rare, but not too hard to find. Eventually she finds a small building, windows somehow unshattered and the door unlocked. It looks like it used to be a bakery. Judging from the way the chairs have been haphazardly thrown about, tables tipped over and some holding splatters of blood on them, it looks to have already been ransacked. Niki doesn’t really mind. The back rooms provide a safe place to stay for the night, and that’s all she really was looking for in the first place.

She rolls her sleeping bag out on the floor carefully, making sure to clear the area. It’s not as comfortable as sleeping on a bed would’ve been, but she’s learned to manage. Her bag and gun are placed against the wall with care, always within arm’s reach. The woman yawns, eyes heavy with tiredness, and snuggles into her sleeping bag. It doesn’t take long before she’s dozing, exhaustion dragging her down into a peaceful dream.

—

Niki hums a tune as she walks through the empty streets. The sun rises steadily overhead, beginning its daily climb into the sky. Her sniper rifle rests comfortingly heavy on her back, hands free to swing as she cheerfully makes her way back towards the skyscraper. There had been no signs of any survivor group so far—particularly not one with a pig masked man possessing a greatsword—which is good for her. 

While she travels back to the safe building, she scavenges through others. It’s a rather boring task, but now part of her life. Scavenging is necessary, and she sings quietly to herself as she does, so it isn’t too bad. She even manages to find an rare unopened pack of jerky, storing it in her backpack happily as she trudges along. The sun rises higher and higher into the sky, heat beginning to bear down on the dilapidated landscape. Niki walks now with her water in hand, taking small sips as she goes. It amazes her how much she’s adapted to life in the apocalypse. Before the war, people had considered her fragile and meek, unlikely to survive in harsh situations. She hadn’t argued with them then, as Niki is one to avoid conflict, but the fact that she is here and outliving all of them says a lot. Now, she wields a gun almost as naturally as she breathes, and shoots with the accuracy of a professionally trained sniper. Niki is far from weak.

The building comes into view, looming over the fallen ones. It’s one of the handful of skyscrapers still standing. The woman breathes a sigh of relief—she was beginning to get tired of walking—and approaches. There’s no sign of anyone having been here, nothing obviously out of place. Even as she opens the familiar glass doors and makes her way towards the stairwell, nothing seems amiss. Climbing all the way up is a tedious task, far more exhausting than walking down, but she spurs herself on.

She rounds the corner again, peering up at the familiar metal door which has now come into sight. Her legs are crying for a rest—climbing up so many flights of stairs is exhausting—so she allows herself a brief break before scaling the remaining flight. She pushes the door open, taking in the sight of the familiar rooftop. Her eyes latch on to the familiar looking figure standing, facing away from her. She recognizes the yellow sweater wrapped around his waist, the beanie arranged carefully on his head. He’s holding a gun, she realizes, but before she can close the door and run he’s already heard her. The man turns around, silver weapon in hand, and gives her a charming smile that Niki doesn’t trust in the slightest.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show up.”

Niki’s heartbeat quickens as she glances quickly around for any sign of his teammates. There is none. Are they waiting to ambush her? Perhaps they’ve already blocked the stairwell. Whirlwinds of possible escape plans swirl through her mind. She knows fairly well that she wouldn’t stand a chance fighting, so running has to be the only options. Her hands twitch, itching to grab hold of her gun. 

The man holds his hands up almost innocently, backing away slightly as if it would comfort her. He speaks, voice strangely passive for someone looking like he was prepared to shoot, “I’m not going to hurt you.” Niki peers at him warily, not buying it. The brunette sighs, tossing his gun away—a desert eagle, she vaguely recognizes—onto the hard ground. It clatters uselessly on the rooftop. He sighs, “There, happy? I promise I’m not hostile.”

Niki takes a cautious step forward, allowing the door to swing shut. It closes with a loud click, and for a moment Niki thinks that she’s trapped herself by doing so, that his friends are going to come back any second and end her life. Nothing happens though, even as she reaches forward to take his gun. It’s heavy in her hand, not so much so as her sniper rifle, but it does weigh a fair amount. He watches her take it and makes no move to stop her. Even as she tucks it carefully into her back pocket, he is still, patiently waiting.

“Where are your friends?” She asks cautiously, voice slightly muffled by her mask. He gestures down at the entrance of the building, where the pig-masked man and the flying one are sitting on pieces of rubble. They look as if they are chatting, or dozing in the afternoon sun. They hadn’t been there before, when she came by. Had they been hiding? Niki’s eyebrows furrow slightly, confused by his actions. _What does he want?_

He seems to read her mind, offering another one of those soft grins accompanied by a shrug, “I wanted to talk to you. I figured seeing all three of us here would scare you away—reasonably—so here I am.”

The woman nods slowly, slowly approaching. _He seems genuine,_ she ponders to herself, _it wouldn’t hurt to talk with him for a bit._ Niki can’t remember the last time she’s actually chatted with another person. Living in the apocalypse is horribly lonely.

The brunette smiles at her again, sitting himself down at the edge of the roof. His legs dangle precariously over the edge, and Niki thinks for a moment that one simple nudge could send him plummeting to the ground, but he doesn’t seem scared in the slightest. She walks forward to sit beside him. He glances at her, brown eyes warm and friendly, “I’m Wilbur. You can call me Will, though, if you’d like.”

“Niki.” Wilbur—Will—nods at that, looking pleased with having her name. Niki almost smiles at that. He is oddly endearing.

“You saved me, right?” Will asks, tapping his fingers on the hard cement of the roof edge. The woman bobs her head in affirmation, glancing to the side to look over the landscape. It’s surprisingly peaceful, she admits to herself, sitting here on this roof and watching the birds fly past. He isn’t looking at her, but seems to know, “Why did you do it?”

“What?” Her mouth opens slightly in surprise as she turns to look at him. Niki blinks, mind blanking terribly. She holds back a wince at the dry smile he dons.

Will runs a hand through his curly fringe, moving some strands of hair out of the way of his eye. “Most people would’ve been happy to watch me be crushed to bits,” he states matter-of-factly, “so why did you save me?”

“I…” Niki trails off, clasping her hands in her lap. She knows that he’s right, but hearing the truth being said so casually makes sadness weigh heavy in her gut. It’s just another reminder about how badly the world has fallen apart, so much so that people would rather let someone die as opposed to saving them. Niki, for once, is grateful that she doesn’t hold this mindset. She speaks softly, choosing her words carefully, “I didn’t want to watch you die, knowing I could’ve done something.” A shaky breath passes through her lips. “No one really deserves to die from being crushed by a mecha spider.”

“So you wouldn’t have done anything if it was a mecha creeper, or skeleton?” He raises an eyebrow. Niki’s eyes widen in alarm before she furiously shakes her head. He chuckles a little.

“Tha—That’s not what I meant.” She stares down at her hands, now calloused and rough. Her fingers trace an old scar, one she had gotten while running from a creeper. She remembers tripping and cutting herself on a sharp rock, watching the blood flow like water and feeling the harsh stinging pain. It hadn’t gotten infected, thanks to careful treatment, but she remembers the visceral fear that had buried itself deep in her gut then, the thought of dying terrifying. Niki glances down, observing as a coyote digs through a tipped over trash can. “I had no reason to let you die." She pauses, "I’d be a pretty shitty person if I let this apocalypse take away my ability to care about others.”

Wilbur hums in acknowledgement, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. He doesn’t respond, and they fall into another silence. Will seems to be satisfied with that answer, a thoughtful look crossing his features before he glances at her, eyes full of an emotion Niki can’t describe. Admiration, maybe? He speaks again, softer this time and full of sincerity, “Thank you.”

Niki chooses not to reply. Saying ‘you’re welcome’ just doesn’t sound right in this scenario, and any other reply just sounded off. So she settles for a slow nod, tracing circles on her own palm, and waits for him to speak again.

It doesn’t take long before he does, glancing back at her. “Are you alone?”

“Uh, yeah,” she affirms quietly, “I used to have a partner, a while ago, but..” her voice trails off, memories of a friend from so long ago surfacing in her mind. She hadn’t thought about Minx in a while, simply settling for the pessimistic truth that she was most likely dead. Wilbur, thankfully, doesn't comment on how she has stilled, staring down at her hands and blinking rapidly to hold back tears. He waits patiently for her to continue, making no attempt to rush her, so she takes a deep breath and drags herself out of her thoughts. “We got separated. I haven’t seen her since then. She’s…” Niki almost cringes at the way her voice wavers with uncertainty, “she's probably dead.”

Wilbur shrugs, “Well, you’re here, right?” He asks rhetorically, facing her and offering a reassuring smile. “Nowadays it takes a lot of strength to be able to survive in the world. I’m sure she was capable.” He doesn't directly say it, but Niki knows that he's implying Minx is likely alive. It's a nice thing to hope, she muses, and maybe he's right. Even so, chances of finding her are low. The city is amazingly large.

“Yeah,” Niki says softly, smiling fondly to herself at the memory of her feisty friend, “yeah, she was.”

He seems satisfied at that, standing up with a small grunt and brushing off his pants. Niki watches him, body half twisted to observe. She almost forgets to give his gun back, a flush of embarrassment reddening her hidden cheeks as he raises his eyebrow expectedly at her. He takes his weapon back with a smile, brushing off her mumbled sorry with an easygoing chuckle, and tucks it into some sort of hidden holster. 

“It was nice meeting you, Niki.” He says courteously, “I’m sure this won’t be the last time we’ll meet.”

“I’m sure it won’t.” She agrees, even if she doesn’t totally believe him. Will seems to know this and he smiles, turns towards the exit. The door opens with that familiar, horrible squeal, and he waves over his shoulder before disappearing into the stairwell. It shuts with a click.

Niki watches the door for a few more moments before turning back and looking out across the ruined city. A couple of minutes pass before she looks down, seeing the top of a beanie covering brown hair exiting through the front. His friends greet him, and then they set off together. Niki watches them go, making a mental note of the direction they are headed. The woman watches them go, praying for the trio. She barely knows Wilbur, but the idea of him dying to that giant black battle axe makes her stomach churn uncomfortably.

They’re beelining straight for _his_ part of the city. 

**Author's Note:**

> Again, much of this is NOT canon in Shota's AU. Please go read their story and even check out their twitter (@ATiredShota) for all the character designs and confirmed facts!
> 
> READ Ellipsism: https://www.wattpad.com/story/236113911-ellipsism
> 
> FOLLOW SHOTA: https://twitter.com/ATiredShota
> 
> comments are much appreciated! :D


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